In Colorado, no authorized course of exists for “widespread legislation divorce.” Colorado doesn’t acknowledge widespread legislation marriage established after September 1, 2006. For relationships established earlier than that date and assembly particular necessities, authorized dissolution is achieved by way of a proper divorce course of equivalent to the method for dissolving a ceremonial marriage. This entails submitting a petition for dissolution of marriage with the courtroom, addressing issues comparable to property division, spousal upkeep (alimony), and, if relevant, parental tasks (custody and youngster help). Terminating a relationship resembling a wedding however not legally acknowledged as one might contain property division based mostly on property legislation rules, not household legislation.
Understanding the excellence between casual relationships and authorized marriage is essential. Whereas events in a relationship might consider they’ve a standard legislation marriage, the authorized necessities are particular and infrequently misunderstood. If a legitimate widespread legislation marriage existed earlier than the cutoff date, it carries the identical authorized weight as a ceremonial marriage, requiring formal authorized dissolution. Making an attempt to self-resolve the termination of such a relationship with out correct authorized course of can result in important problems concerning property division and different authorized rights and tasks.
